[God Quest] borrow your time

karma's a relaxing thought, aren't you envious that for you it's not?

Flora tugged her shawl closer against the Deepfrost chill, the gold threads glinting faintly in the fading light. The beach was quieter than usual, the sunset’s muted hues blending into the deep violet of dusk. Torchline didn’t feel the bite like other places, but the salt-heavy breeze still carried a sharp edge, brushing cold against her skin.

She’d chosen not to climb the lighthouse tonight, opting instead to linger by the waves. Safrin wouldn’t mind—she’d left the offering carefully nestled on a smooth rock near the tide. The obsidian star chart, etched with Deepfrost constellations and set with glittering crystal fragments, caught the first glimmers of starlight. It had taken weeks to make (so the merchant she'd bartered from had told her), beautiful and dramatic enough for Safrin’s tastes. At least, Flora hoped so.

The stars began to emerge overhead, delicate pinpricks breaking through the deepening sky. Flora’s gaze lingered on them for a moment before shifting back to the ocean. She’d left word for Hadama earlier and trusted the Tidebreaker would arrive soon—dependable as the tides, as always. Still, her restless energy crept in, and she paced near the shoreline, her boots leaving uneven prints in the sand.

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Turning in TL's RQ from: [RQ] Diamonds on the floor


1. A PQ to make sure the Star Gate is still in good working order. [PQ][SE][RQ] these years coming like waves with Jack, Vesper, Nova

2. A ME to determine who will have the item / let TL in general know about the change.[ME][RQ] New life in old stones with Hadama, Flora, Calypso, Vesper, Nova, Jack, Isla

3. A thread where both Hadama and Flora give a part of themselves to the Star Gate. [RA][RQ] Life is trial by fire with Hadama, Flora

4. A thread of at least 3 Torchers leaving offerings for Safrin at the Aumakua by starlight. (This should be done at the lighthouse board and not the shrine itself. (Mers can participate in this from the water)). [RQ] A season of giving with Hadama, Jack, Nova, Calypso

5. 3 threads where Torchers gather materials to create the activation device:

• [RQ] crashing on the rocks starlight captured in a body of naturally occurring water with Melita, Flora
  
• [RQ] trapped in a femur dream bones gathered from Metacarpal Island with Melita, Jack
  
• [RQ] Way down low Sand from the bottom of the ocean with Hadama, Kaiden
  

The Merking came from the sea, rising quietly from the waves to find Flora already waiting for him upon the shore. The sunset was swiftly fading in the west as the stars began to appear across the broad sweep of sky above, the night clear and holding that little extra bite in the air because of it. Hadama lingered in his merform, well-suited to the chill of the depths it helped to protect him from the chill while he tucked his offering at the edge of the tide line, among rounded rocks as black as the sand that surrounded the lighthouse. A pair of earrings were nestled in a bed of seasilk within a clam shell the size of his large palm, a glitter of small, dangling stars in silver and mother of pearl that he let go with a silent prayer. Beside the shell were placed bones and jars of starlit water and sand, all of the items requested alongside their less tangible efforts.

Pulling himself onto the beach and changing his tail for legs was a familiar action by now, though the cool caress of the breeze over his damp skin was... bracing, if he were to choose a charitable interpretation. He squeezed the sea from his hair as he moved to join Flora, and he inclined his head deeply to his co-ruler, a hint of a smile in his eyes and lifting the corner of his mouth. "I am ready," he said simply. He offered her his hand (still, alas, a little damp) and then tilted his face to the sky, eyes falling half-shut in reverence as he let the light of distant stars fall on him.

"Safrin, we have completed the tasks for the stargate key. And Torchline has chosen Queen Flora to carry it." If Flora had taken his hand he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze of pride. "Will you give this quest your blessing?"

Safrin

The stars overhead flared brighter, their silvery light spilling across the beach in a shimmering cascade. The world seemed to hold its breath as the tide quieted, the air growing still with a reverent hush. Then, like a ripple of moonlight made flesh, Safrin appeared. She stood where the offerings had been placed, her beauty as sharp and radiant as a blade of starlight. Her gown of black velvet shimmered with constellations, and her hair tumbled in waves as dark as the deepest void, threaded with sparkling points of light. Her eyes—vast, cosmic, infinite—turned first to Hadama and then to Flora, her smile warm enough to soften even the crisp edge of the Deepfrost air.

“My stars,” she murmured, her voice as soft as the whisper of the tide, yet threaded with celestial power. “Flora...this star chart is exquisite.” A delicate hand hovered over the queen's offering, starlight dancing from her fingertips to illuminate the etched constellations. “And these,” she added, glancing toward Hadama and the earrings he'd brought, her smile deepening, “-are beautifully crafted. You’ve both outdone yourselves.”

Her gaze settled on Flora, a flicker of pride visible in the galaxies swirling within her irises. “Torchline has chosen well.” Safrin’s tone was uncharacteristically soft, as though addressing a beloved creation. “You’ve proven your devotion time and time again. And now, you will carry something more.” She raised her hand, and from the swirling starlight gathered in her palm, a ring began to form. It was delicate and radiant, its golden band etched with tiny constellations that seemed to shift and glimmer with life. At its center, a gem shaped like a star pulsed faintly, as if it contained a heartbeat of the cosmos. “This is the stargate key,” Safrin said, her voice almost a purr as she stepped closer to Flora. “Torchline’s protection, bound in gold and light.” She took Flora’s hand with an almost maternal care, sliding the ring onto her finger. The gem glowed brighter, as though it recognized its bearer.

Turning to Hadama, she inclined her head, the faintest nod of approval. “Tidebreaker, as steadfast as the currents. Your devotion does not go unnoticed. Together, you make this land stronger.” The air around her began to shimmer, her form blurring at the edges like a dream dissipating with the dawn. “Go now, and let the stars guide you both,” she said, her voice softening as her form dissolved into light. The beach fell silent once more, but the golden ring on Flora’s finger glimmered in the starlight, a quiet promise of what had been and what was yet to come.

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Torchline has completed their RQ! Flora has received
Stargate Ring | A ring that when activated can trigger the stargate from anywhere within Torchline.


~FIN

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!